A Brighter Day | Chickens in the Road

Oct
29

After the no-good, very-bad day that was like a day and a half, there was no doubt the situation in the milk stand pen was out of hand. And I couldn’t take it anymore! And now I don’t have to.

Broken left gate, fixed and nailed shut permanently:

Additional board blocking BP’s path so she has to back out instead of trying to go sideways and catty-corner:

Baby, collared:

And on a lead!

Instead of wrestling Glory Bee for the milk, I tie her to the corner and milk undisturbed.

(Side note: I love my pot-in-a-bucket because when I go back to the porch, I take my pot out of the bucket, leave the bucket outside, and just take in my pot. Nothing dirty comes into the house! I like having the handle on the bucket till then. It makes it easy to carry, and I can hang it up on a nail on the milk stand while I’m waiting to finish things up with Glory Bee.)

When I’m done, Glory Bee gets her turn:

Sometimes Boomer, the milk supervisor, stops by to inspect.

While she’s tied, Glory Bee can still reach mommy and snack from her feed box.

BP and I are so relieved!

P.S. I think you’ve scared me out of the dehorning paste. I’m investigating other options.

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21 Responses
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10-29
1:28
am

Seems that little baby is giving you one heck of a hard time. I don’t really believe it though, she looks SOOOO sweet and innocent with those big brown eyes. She couldn’t be that difficult!!!!

Karen

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10-29
2:37
am

High five Suzanne! Good job,see I told you you would learn a lot from GB!

Liesl

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10-29
5:00
am

Congratulations!

I finally bought a halter yesterday. The fun will begin………

Glenda

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10-29
7:33
am

Great job!!!! All is peaceful at Stringtown Rising Farm once again

CindyP

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10-29
7:53
am

Good job with wrangling the unruly baby! I think you are doing the right thing with not doing the paste, I have never been around cows, but, it still scared me to hear everyone talk about it. There has to be another way.

momma-leigh

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10-29
8:00
am

Nice work getting baby under control. I am so happy you decided against the paste. <3

Angie

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10-29
8:11
am

Good job with the rascal calf. The worry and tension lines have disappeared from BPs face. She is soooo very relieved. The rascal genes are obviously coming from the bull’s side of the family. Can you just imagine what a handful of calf he must have been.

jackie c.

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10-29
8:46
am

GB looks like she is about to cry in that third picture.

Mermonster

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10-29
9:10
am

Hallelujah! There’s peace in the parlor once again!

Glory Bee will certainly start settling down more now with you giving her some restrictions. What an adorable scamp!

texwisgirl

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10-29
9:39
am

Well done, Suzanne! Hate to keep bugging, but hoping you are able to walk GB a little each day-even a couple of turns around the milk stand would be a good start. Also, are you seeing any signs of heat in BP? Pretty soon time to get that gal bred back.

Jersey Lady

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10-29
11:05
am

Suzanne, I must admit relief about the paste. I know nothing about farm animals and I would never give you advice about them but the comments from others on the paste had me worried. I’m realistic that sometimes we must do unpleasant things to make lives better in the long run but that stuff sounds awful.

If Glory Bee is anything like my daughter she’ll get all of her rebellion out of her system when she’s young and be a sweetheart when she’s a teenager.

Karo

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10-29
11:10
am

Glory Bee is so beautiful! Looking at that sweet face, it’s hard to believe that shes such a stinker to handle!

Michelle

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10-29
11:35
am

Practice is making perfect!

Ramona

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10-29
11:36
am

congratulations of getting things squared away in the mild stand!
I love what’s going on in that shot of Boomer checking out the process. photos of Boomer always put a smile on my face.

Miss Becky

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10-29
11:50
am

I am happy you have decided against the paste. Personally I prefer the disbudding iron, used when you can barely feel the horn buds through the top of the head. Yes, GB will holler and there will be a bit of foul smoke, but it is over very quickly and does a great job. Just give GB some treats & mama milk afterwards and she’ll quickly forgive you.

Sharon Dziekonski

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10-29
12:12
pm

Another Hallelujah! Suzanne has taken control of the situation! One tough mommy once they got her dander up (and she got some sleep). The West Virgina and Texas grit came out; those critters didn’t know who they were dealing with.

Barbee'

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10-29
12:22
pm

Whew, you have had your hands full! And I have loved reading the ongoing saga!

Judy McCormick

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10-29
12:39
pm

Yes! You are in charge, you are in control, you are WOMAN! That looks like a better arrangement for all concerned. So glad you got that worked out before you have winter weather to contend with.

Whaledancer

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10-29
12:41
pm

Hurray! I’m glad you have things under control – sometimes it takes awhile but persistence and innovation win out.

And THANK YOU for that tip of putting the milking pot (aka stock pot) in a bucket! I use a stock pot when milking my goats and never have figured out how to carry it and everything else – the pot-in-a-bucket-with-a-handle would be perfect!!!

Kathi

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10-29
6:14
pm

We had the vet do the dehorning with a scoop until the cost got prohibitive (because we had so many calves) then we went to burning the horn buds. Never used the paste as the vet was dead set against it. Too many cases of calves being blinded. Some cows are fine with horns and totally gentle while others have horns and are willing to use them. We had them all dehorned just to prevent problems since having some with and some without horns would give the horned cows unfair advantage. We only had one cow that was dangerous with people and that was because a teenager had taught her as a calf how to use her head in shoving matches. She still did that as a grown cow. She wasn’t trying to hurt people, just didn’t know her own strength. She was fine with me because I didn’t tolerate her nonsense but couldn’t be trusted around children. We sold her to a farmer with no children before she hurt one of our kids. It’s rare to have a truly mean cow (bulls are a different story) but those are the kind that would be in the freezer and I’d be eating some mighty fine chili and meatloaf. Like I said in an earlier comment, it is really important to raise Glory Bee to be respectful of humans and their space. She shouldn’t be afraid, but she should know that you own the space and she needs to back up and not crowd you. Slightly head shy, but not afraid of humans is how you want a cow to be. My grandfather always carried a stick or cane when working cows. They knew he would never use the cane unless they started crowding him, then they would get a crack on the head. Since cows are herd animals it can get dangerous really fast if you get a bunch of cows crowding and you get knocked down. Like I said, not fearful, but respectful and willing to back up and give you space are critical cow manners to keep you safe.

Sheila Z

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10-29
8:52
pm

You go girl! Great job dominating the situation. That’s how I feel after I turn mean roosters into soup. R-E-L-I-E-F!!

One Sunny Acre

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